Warning Sign
by HuntersAndAssassins
Summary: Tessa Conrad was an average person. Completely boring, by Gotham's standards. Until she befriended Victor Zsasz. That was when her boringly average life got turned upside down.


**Hello! This is my first story on here and I'm a little nervous. I've written plenty of fanfic before, but I normally keep it to myself or let a couple of friends read it. A friend suggested this site though so I'm going to give it a try! This is going to be a Victor Zsasz and OC story. It starts a little before the first episode of Gotham, and I might chronicle the whole show. (Is anyone else bummed about the show ending?) I'm thinking of adding in a side pairing of Jim Gordon and OC, but I'm not sure yet. I guess I'll see how this goes first.**

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Victor Zsasz was a boogeyman in a city filled with some of the worst souls that humanity had to offer. A mere whisper of his name was enough to make seasoned killers fill with dread. Even those who claimed to not be afraid of him only said so in low voices that wouldn't carry. When he walked into a room, the whole atmosphere shifted. Grew heavier, darker. There were rumors about Falcone's top enforcer, some mild and others absurd, but there were a few things that all Gotham citizens could agree on.

Victor Zsasz was a monster. Cruel and efficient. A deadly promise.

Tessa Conrad's truth concerning Victor Zsasz was a little different. To her, he was the guy that came into the convenience store she worked in at odd hours. He was the only person she'd ever seen buy milk and skittles at the same time, followed by him devouring both while telling her about the cat he'd seen earlier that night. (He never said so explicitly, but she was sure that he saw the cat after killing its owner.) He was the weird guy that insisted on tipping her, no matter how many times she told him that tipping wasn't allowed. (She still pocketed the money, because it wasn't like she was raking in dough.) He was odd but polite, and she always thought of him as just another customer instead of as a cold-blooded killer.

Victor Zsasz was a killer. _Truth._

Victor Zsasz saved her life. _Truth._

 **•V•**

Tessa jumped as cans were dropped onto the counter next to where her head was laying, nearly fell off her stool but caught herself at the last moment, and looked up through the hair stuck to her face. Dark eyes were staring down at her, and she caught the sight of his cheek twitching. He was forcing down a smile, and sometimes she worried that being able to read Victor Zsasz's facial expressions would get her hurt. Possibly killed.

"Sleeping on the job?" He made a quiet tsking noise, that sounded somewhat menacing, and pushed the six pack closer to her.

"It's usually dead in here this late. This early?" She shrugged in answer to her own question while ringing up the energy drinks, and Victor paid her with a fifty. While she was getting his change, he lifted the cans into his arms.

"Keep the change, babe!" The door swung shut behind him, and she stuffed the money into her pocket. She wasn't about to chase after him and the rent was nearly due anyway. Her nose did wrinkle at his usual nickname for her.

The first time Victor came into the small corner store, there was already a guy at the counter. He'd been talking to her and trying to get her name, since she didn't have a name tag, and he'd started sounding angry enough to worry her. Then a hand had clapped and curved around his shoulder while Victor easily asked, "This guy bothering you, babe?" She'd recognized Victor and had been too shocked to say anything, which worked out since the other guy had fled the store. Victor had then asked her if she wanted him to kill the guy so he wouldn't harrass her, and she'd declined the offer. (That guy never came back, so he was either terrified of Victor or Victor had killed him anyway.) Since that night, he'd called her babe and had never asked for her name. Which, really, was just fine with her. Victor Zsasz was a nice enough guy to her, but she wasn't foolish enough to think he was a nice guy.

 **•V•**

"You look like shit." Tessa felt her eyes widen as the words slipped from her mouth, cool air nearly instantly dried her eyes out, but she was too scared to really blink. Victor was leaning against the counter, elbow propped next to a rack of lighters, and looking straight at her. To her credit, he really did look like shit. Pale and unbalanced, with his lips bitten bloody.

"Aw, are you saying I'm not pretty enough for you?" His voice was rough, hoarse, like he'd been screaming at the top of his lungs. Her eyes darted down to look at his throat, but she snapped her gaze back to his when she saw the ring of bruises.

"You're still pretty enough to take me to prom," she heard herself say. Victor was always saying weird things, things that would be flirtatious if there wasn't a dark undertone, but she never played along. That explained why Victor's smile was surprised. "Do you want me to get you something?"

"Crackers." She raised a brow but didn't voice a question, and she nodded once before walking off.

No one else was in the store, so she didn't feel like she was breaking any rules. She stacked a few boxes of crackers into her arms, snagged a big bag of skittles on a whim, and then took her place behind the counter again. Victor was uncharacteristically quiet as she rang up the boxes and then placed them into a large bag, and she didn't tell him a total as she slid the bag across the counter to him.

"On the house," she said with a bright smile that she definitely hadn't practiced in a mirror. He came in at least once a week and tipped her, so she could pay for crackers.

"Don't get soft on me, babe." Her eyes immediately dropped down, because she could feel heat flooding her cheeks and creeping down her neck. She didn't want him to see her blushing and think she was crushing on him. In truth, she felt scared around him for the first time. There was something about the way he'd said that, something under the surface, that made her heart pump faster. Like she was already trying to run away. Because that tone had told her that softness gets broken, so she'd better not be.

While she was trying to convince her body that she wasn't in danger, Victor stretched an arm out. Fingertips brushed her jaw before pressing into the soft skin under her chin, and she didn't fight as Victor lifted her head. She was sure that her whole face was colored red as her eyes met his, and her thighs were shaking as she held her spine straight. All of her instincts were begging her to either drop and curl up or run. She stayed frozen instead and felt Victor's cold thumb touch against her heated cheek. He made a quiet humming sound, considering, and her legs shook so hard that her knees actually knocked together.

"I think I've changed my mind." Her mouth was so dry that she knew she'd only croak if she tried to speak, but Victor must have been able to sense her confusion. "Stay just like this. I like you soft."

His thumb tapped her cheek before he pulled away completely, and she still hadn't moved after he grabbed his bag of crackers and walked out. When she finally did move, her body gave a harsh shiver and loud nervous laughter felt ripped from her throat. Because she didn't feel amused. She felt confused, and her heart was still racing with leftover fear. The laughter eventually stopped, and she collapsed onto her stool. Her face still felt too hot and she felt deeply unsettled, but she was okay. Victor was just a customer, and he had never hurt her. She was okay.

 **•V•**

Loud whistling accompanied the sound of footsteps, and Tessa finished the sentence she was reading and then used a penny to mark her place. She placed the book next to the register and sat up straighter on her stool, and she caught a glimpse of the customer as they walked across an aisle at the back of the store. It was definitely Victor. She hadn't seen his face, but she knew it was him. All black suit, bald, and he moved his body differently than most people. Like he was completely at ease but still ready to move at a moment's notice.

She was glad it was Victor and not some drunk trying to steal again. That time when Victor scared her, when he called her soft, was several visits ago. He'd been his usual self the next time he came in, hadn't touched her or said anything that made her survival instincts kick in, and she felt comfortable around him. So she was already smiling when Victor walked up to the counter and dropped the items in his arms. Tessa caught a can of Pringles before it could roll off the counter, and she looked up and watched as Victor counted his stuff like he was taking inventory.

"Do you have a favorite candy?" he asked as she started ringing the stuff up. From any other customer, that question would sound weird. From Victor, it was small talk.

"I like chocolate, milk not dark. Are skittles your favorite?" He usually bought a bag of the colorful candy, she'd just rung up two bags, so she thought it was a fair assumption.

"You noticed." His grin was sharp, and his tone suggested that there was something he was holding back.

"Of course I did." She'd been looking into his eyes as she said it, so she was able to see the brief moment of surprise. He came in at least once a week, usually more, and he definitely stood out from the other customers that came in during the late shift.

After she was done bagging everything, Victor dropped a hundred onto the counter and left. She'd barely had time to pick the single bill up before Victor was gone, and it was kinda odd that he hadn't said goodbye. He normally had something to say before leaving. Maybe he was in a hurry? He had gotten a lot of stuff, so it was possible he was going to meet someone. She pocketed the change and pushed the encounter to the back of her mind.

 **•V•**

She was ringing up a couple of twelve packs and a pile of chips when Victor walked in, and he stood behind the guy buying beer and junk food. It only took a couple of minutes for her to finish, and not a single word besides her giving the total had been said. She supposed that was another way that Victor was different; she usually talked to him, but she didn't really talk to any of the other customers. Victor stepped up to the counter after the other guy was gone, but he didn't have anything to put on the counter.

"Close your eyes." Her eyes closed automatically, which was a little worrying. She wouldn't tell any of the customers her name, but she trusted Victor enough to be blind and vulnerable? She could hear rustling, leather and cloth, but she didn't open her eyes until he told her to. "Now open."

"What's? Oh, it's pretty," she said absently. A silver necklace chain was wrapped around two of his fingers, thin but sturdy, and her eyes kept getting caught on the pendant. Shining dark green, cut into a triangle and outlined with tiny diamonds, glittered even in the dull lights of the store.

"You like it?" Tessa wasn't much of a jewelry person, but she could admit that the necklace was beautiful.

"Yes," she answered honestly. Victor stretched his arm out towards her, and the pendant swung lazily.

"Then it's all yours, babe," he said with a wide smile. She started shaking her head, but Victor's smile didn't fade.

"I really can't accept this." Victor reached out with both arms and, since the counter wasn't that large, he was able to reach under her hair and behind her neck. "It looks way too expensive, and where did you even get this?" The necklace was hooked around her neck, and the pendant hung down to just past the dip between her collarbones. Victor pulled back and smiled as he looked at his handiwork, and Tessa met his eyes. "Am I wearing a dead person's necklace?"

"Now, why would you think a thing like that?" His thumb traced down the chain and then stopped as he pressed the silver against the line of her collarbone. His voice was light, conversational even, but there was an edge to it.

"Because I know who you are." She didn't feel scared. The last time Victor touched her, she'd been terrified. Knee-knocking, heart-pounding, fight or flight terrified. Now? She mostly just felt confused. The first time a guy gives her jewelry, and it's something that would probably cost her a year's worth of wages and probably belonged to someone who was very recently deceased.

"You do?" Still light, still conversational. His thumb stroked against metal and skin, but he kept his eyes locked on hers.

"You're Victor Zsasz." It was the first time she'd ever said his name out loud, but he didn't react. Just hummed and kept moving his thumb, now touching only skin.

"I didn't kill anyone for it. You are the first owner." He pulled his hand away, brushed his fingers against the pendant and skin above the vee of her shirt, and smiled at her again. "See you around, babe."

It took her five minutes after Victor left to realize that he hadn't bought anything.

 **•V•**

Tessa kept wearing the necklace. She thought about the possibility of Victor lying and that it really had been taken from a murder victim, but she believed him. She didn't really know him, but she didn't think he was the lying type. So she continued to wear the necklace, with the pendant hidden under her shirt, and she couldn't resist touching it whenever she was sure that no one was around. She'd had boyfriends before, but the most expensive gift that she'd ever gotten was a bouquet of flowers. Until now. Until one of Gotham's most notorious killers showed up at the dingy convenience store where she worked and put an expensive necklace around her neck.

She heard someone come in while she was stacking cigarettes, and the footsteps headed towards the back of the store so she still had a minute. She was just finishing up when someone else came in and walked straight to the counter, and she dusted off her knees before completely straightening up. She was tucking her hair behind her ears as she looked up, and she froze with her fingertips touching the shell of her ear. She couldn't see who was standing at the counter. All she could see was the gun pointed at her face.

"Open the register. Give me the money." The gun was shaking, because his hand was shaking. She kept her eyes on the gun as her fingers fumbled against the resister, and the gun started shaking even more. "Hurry it up!"

He jerked his arm forwards and made the gun slip, and then her ears started to ring. For the first time, she saw the man's face. Mostly hidden behind a beard and bushy eyebrows, wide dark eyes, and pale like all the blood had been drained from his face. Then she felt the pain. The left side of her neck felt like it was burning, like someone was holding a hot iron against the skin. She reached up with one hand, and the sound that came out of her throat sounded like a wounded animal. The pain was deep and throbbing, and her fingers slipped against torn skin and slick blood. Her eyes clenched shut as her eyes burned, and she heard the sound of a fight but kept her eyes shut. She didn't open them until she heard a loud cry and metal rattling against tiles.

"Shouldn't have done that." She meant to say Victor's name, but what came out was another guttural animal noise. It was enough to get Victor to look at her though.

Her scattered mind realized that Victor must have been the person who came in first, and now he was standing behind the man who had shot her. It was hard to tell, but she thought he was pulling the man's hair to force his head back. His eyes swept over her, and she suddenly realized that blood was pouring from the side of her neck. For just a moment, she felt panicked at the thought of making such a mess.

 _"I can't believe I'm going to die in the corner store, in holey socks,"_ she thought as a wave of dizziness hit her. Victor's eyes finally settled on hers, and she felt hypnotized. The pain was still overwhelming, but she felt...safe.

"Shouldn't have hurt my girl." Everything felt numb, except her neck, as she watched Victor raise his other hand. "You're going to have to pay for that."

The knife Victor was holding slid against the man's throat, and she stood still as she watched him bleed. Was that what she looked like? The man's eyes bulged, and his mouth opened and closed while only making thick gasping sounds. Victor wiped the blade against the man's dirty jacket without looking away from her. When he released the man and took a step back, the man fell to the floor. Dead. He had to be dead. Like she would probably be soon.

She caught herself by supporting her weight with an elbow against the counter as her knees buckled, but she couldn't hold the position. She slipped onto the floor, on her knees, and pressed both hands against the side of her neck. She could hear Victor talking, calling for an ambulance, and she started to cry as blood pumped through her fingers. Black spots peppered her vision and caused her to clench her eyes shut, and it felt like the pain was spreading. Deepening.

Hands touched against her shoulders, smoothed down her ribs, and squeezed her hips. A strong grip on her thighs turned her around, so that she wasn't facing the counter anymore. Those same hands brushed the hair away from her face and then circled around her wrists, but she resisted when he pulled on her. She kept her hands pressed tight against her neck and finally opened her eyes again. Victor was kneeling in front of her, and his expression was blank. His eyes though...he looked furious.

"Victor." His name was a pain filled whimper, and he removed one hand to curl it over her right shoulder.

"I need to see." This time when he pulled at her wrist, she let her hand fall away. Gloved fingers swiped across the center of the pain, and Victor squinted as he looked at the damage. "Looks bad but you'll live. Ambulance will be here soon."

"You need to go." He looked confused as he used his hand to staunch the blood flow, and she reached up to pull at his sleeve.

"You were shot. I am not leaving." She wanted to ask him why he cared, why it mattered, but she couldn't get those thoughts straight enough to ask them.

"Cops are coming. I don't want them to arrest you." Her voice sounded terrible, and she just wanted to sleep. To lay down and feel nothing, but she knew she couldn't. She had to stay conscious, and Victor had to leave. The cops had to know who he was on sight, and he didn't need to be arrested for helping her.

"Are you looking out for me, babe?" He sounded amused, but she didn't think he was mocking her. Distantly, she could hear sirens.

"Go out the back so they won't see you." Cops and paramedics would be in the store any minute now, and she didn't want to see Victor get arrested. She also didn't want him to see her pass out.

"Can I visit you in the hospital?" She nodded, felt a stronger wave of dizziness, and then he was gone. Which was good, because it sounded like the sirens were right outside. A part of her felt relieved, until she realized. Victor couldn't see her in the hospital. He still didn't know her name.

 **•V•**

Victor waited until the next night before tracking the store girl down. She wasn't that hard to find, not if you know somebody who knows somebody. It didn't even matter that he didn't know his store girl's name. He sent out what had happened and was given a room number, but he waited until late before going. He already knew that she was in a room with two beds, but she was the only occupant.

The hospital room was dark when he walked in, but the light on the wall above the head of one of the beds was turned on. The blanket and sheet was flipped back, but she was nowhere in sight. He walked across the room and saw a sliver of light coming from underneath another door. Flushing water. Bathroom. He leaned back against the foot of the bed as he heard water running, splashing, and crossed his arms.

She was mumbling to herself as the door cracked open, and the light flicked off before she stepped out. She was looking down at the floor so she didn't see him, and he quickly looked her over. There was a bandage on the left side of her neck, taped down and bulging. The thin white hospital gown made her look smaller. Smaller and fragile. _Soft._

Her head raised and her eyes met his, and she froze. Went completely still. Her eyes widened, but she didn't look scared. She never looked scared of him. He held himself still and waited to see what she would do, but she just looked at him. Wide eyes, lips slightly parted, one foot in front of the other. Like she was waiting for him to do something. So he opened his arms and smiled, and he saw her lips starting to curve before she charged.

He laughed as she ran into him and crossed his arms around her back, and he felt her hands curling against the front of his jacket. He knew she was tall and lean, he'd been able to tell that much just by looking at her, but he'd never been this close to her before. He could feel her now, pressed tight against him and shaking. She was at the perfect height to tuck her head under his chin, but she felt too thin. Was his store girl not taking care of herself?

"Tessa." It was breathed against the front of his throat, and he reached up to twist some of her short hair between his fingers while humming in question. "My name. It's Tessa. Tessa Conrad."

"Tessa." The name easily rolled off his tongue, and he liked the way her name sounded. His store girl, his Tessa.

"I didn't tell the cops about you. I told them that another customer stepped in but that I had already fallen behind the counter, so I didn't see anything. I didn't tell them that you were there, and I don't think they're going to look into it. The cop that talked to me said it was open and shut. I got shot during a robbery, and the robber is dead. Case closed." It was whispered in a sleepy drawl, and he could feel her starting to sag against him.

"Case closed. Time to get into bed." He loosened his arms but kept a hold on her, and he walked her to the side of the bed.

Victor settled her into the bed and pulled the blankets up, and she reached out to grab his hands before he could move away. When she didn't immediately let go, he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at her. Her eyes were open, but she must have gotten a dose of meds before he came in. Her pupils were dilated to show only a thin ring of gray, and she was looking up at him with an expression he didn't recognize.

He let her continue to hold one of his hands, and he reached up to push short black hair off of her face. The longer pieces brushed by her chin while the shorter pieces curled across her brow, and all of it was lying limply. She looked sick, faded. One of her hands moved restlessly against his, fingers moving against the leather gloves he was wearing, and her brows bunched up and pulled down in concentration. Two of her fingers slipped under the sleeve of his jacket and pressed against his wrist, skin against skin.

"Victor? Why did you care?" She was nearly asleep, but she was fighting to stay awake.

"When did I care?" At the store, she was always expressive. Everything she felt was written across her face for the world to see, but she was even easier to read now. Confusion in the line of her brows. Embarrassment in the pink of her cheeks. Happiness in the shine of her eyes.

"You killed him when you could have left and then called the cops. You wanted to stay. Why?" A finger circled over his wrist, and his fingers were still combing through her hair.

 _Why?_

She didn't mean anything to anyone important. She was the cashier who worked the late shift at the corner store close to his apartment. She knew who he was, had always known, and treated him like anyone else. Blushed when he called her silly endearments. Smiled and talked easily with him. Not even his girls were that at ease around him. She was ordinary, nothing special. Soft and more fragile than she realized. After he stopped in the store with a fresh bullet wound and she had grabbed him a pack of skittles when he only asked for crackers, he'd thought of her as his store girl.

"Because you're mine." Her nose wrinkled as her face scrunched up, and she tucked a finger under his glove.

"If I asked you to stay away from me, would you?" He didn't like the thought of never seeing her again, but he wouldn't force his presence on her. If he did that, she might look at him with fear showing on her expressive face. He didn't want to see her look like that because of him.

"Yes. Are you asking me to stay away?" Her smile transformed her face. Deep dimples appeared in her cheeks and small lines appeared next to her eyes.

"No, I don't want you to stay away. Will you stay close?" Definitely drugged but amusing.

"I'll stay close." Her smile softened, and he listened as she repeated her address for him to memorize. Because they were releasing her in the morning and she didn't have to work for a while, so she told him that he could visit her if he wanted.

Her eyes closed after that, but she was still gripping his hand and idly moving her fingers against his wrist. He resisted the urge to make her open her eyes again, because he knew she needed the rest. Normal people weren't used to being in pain, to being shot. His store girl was normal, soft and fragile. She needed to rest and to be kept safe.

His hand moved away from her hair, and his knuckles brushed against the swell of her cheek. She turned her face towards his hand, pressing against the leather, and sighed quietly. He wanted to take his gloves off and trace the freckles on her face with his bare fingers, but now wasn't the time. He didn't mean to touch her as much as he had, because she hadn't asked him to touch her. In a city filled with darkness, she was something...innocent.

"Thank you, Victor. For saving me." He could feel the way her jaw moved as she spoke, and he watched her lips form the words. No one had ever thanked him for saving them before. He didn't save people, but he had saved her.

"You're welcome. Tessa."

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 **Thank you for reading! I'd love to know thoughts on this chapter.**


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